14. Notre Dame Fighting Irish This finally might be the season the Irish break through, especially if coach Brian Kelly can persuade junior receiver Michael Floyd to come back to school. Notre Dame showed a lot of promise in Kelly's first season, ending 2010 with a four-game winning streak, including a 33-17 rout of Miami in the Hyundai Sun Bowl. If Floyd returns, the Irish might have nine starters back on offense and eight on defense. There should be a pretty good quarterback battle in the spring between Dayne Crist and Tommy Rees, who played well after Crist was hurt. The most promising development of Kelly's first season was the improvement on defense. Notre Dame's 2011 schedule features eight games against teams that played in bowl games in 2010.

"This was one of the toughest decisions I have ever had to make in my life," Floyd said. "On the one hand, there was Notre Dame. This place has been an incredible home to me and the relationships I built here are ones I know I'll have for the rest of my life. On the other hand, there was the NFL. It has always been a lifelong goal to play football at the highest level and that is something I look forward to doing at some point. However, I'm pleased to say I will be returning to the University of Notre Dame for my senior season in 2011.
"I'm returning to Notre Dame for three reasons: to earn my degree, return Notre Dame to the top and improve myself as a player. First, I promised my mom I would graduate from Notre Dame and I am 40 credit hours shy of attaining that goal. I chose to attend Notre Dame in part because I knew it was a 40-year decision and not a four-year decision. Graduating from Notre Dame will help me for the rest of my life. Second, I want to get Notre Dame back to a BCS game. I believe we are very close to returning the Irish to where we belong and I want to be part of something great. Lastly, I want to show everyone in the country that I'm the best wide receiver in college football in 2011. There are many things I need to improve, but I feel with the coaching I have at Notre Dame, I can become the best at my position in this game."

karen lotz;635452 wrote:Floyd will return for his senior season.


http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/011211aab.html

Notre dame where it's at for 1 more year

september63;636667 wrote:I think ND could get to 10 wins next year. Am very happy Floyd is coming back next year. We all saw how NFL ready Golden Tate really was? 21 rec and 0 TD's.